


Rats Sammy, Rats

by Nellie2018



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean doesn't like rats, Gen, Hurt Dean, Protective Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:14:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22240882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellie2018/pseuds/Nellie2018
Summary: A 19 year old disappears without trace when cycling home one night.   It's up to the Winchesters to try and find out what happened to him.    Unfortunately it means that Dean has to face up to one of his greatest fears.
Kudos: 11





	Rats Sammy, Rats

Jordi Connor yawned as he walked to the store room at the back of the 7-11. It had been a long boring shift at the small supermarket and he was desperate to get home and relax on his X box. He’d recently celebrated his 19th birthday and had been bought the new Avengers game which he hadn’t had a chance to try out yet. He didn’t drive, preferring to cycle around the local area as it kept him fit and his parents had bought him the new machine he’d been hankering after for ages. As usual he rang his mum and told her he was on the way before he wheeled his brand new racer bike out of the store and strapped his helmet on securely. He was soon pedaling down the road away from the town centre. It normally took him about 15 minutes to make the short trip back to the family farm and he relaxed as he turned off the main road onto the unlit backroad which led directly home. He had done this trip hundreds of times and as he cycled along he hummed to himself - the latest hit of his favourite band. As he neared a junction of a disused branch road he was surprised to see a young woman standing at the side. She was young with long dark hair, dressed in a long white dress. He looked around but it was pitch black apart from the moonlight and there was no vehicle in sight. He stopped near to her.

“Hi, is everything ok?” he called and she turned to look at him with a small sad smile on her face. She turned and walked down the side road away from him.

“Hey” called Jordi. It was cold outside and he worried that she appeared to be only wearing a thin dress and she turned and gestured for him to follow her. Jordi looked at the rough potholed road and decided that he would leave his bike at the junction. He left it propped against a convenient tree and rushed to catch up with the elusive woman. As he neared she turned around and looked at him. Smiling, she reached out and he felt transfixed by her beauty and took the proffered hand. He followed blindly as she lead him further into the woods

Suddenly a cry echoed through the trees and then there was silence.

Jordis mum fretted as she checked her watch again.   
“He should be home by now Jeff.” she said and her husband stood up and shrugged his coat on. “He’s probably got a puncture or something. I’ll run down the lane and go and get him.” he assured the worrying Mother. Jeff Connor found the red bike leaning against a tree but there was no sign of his son. “Jordi?” he called but he never got an answer.

Dean Winchester looked up as his brother entered the kitchen.

“Coffee’s hot” he called and returned to the screen of his laptop.

Sam nodded and walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a strong one. Bringing it over to the table he looked over the elder Winchesters shoulder and saw it was a police report. It looked like Dean was researching a new case.

“What are you looking at? “ he asked, yawning and then taking a swig of the black coffee. He had stayed up late having got engrossed in an old dusty tome relating to South American ancient nature gods.

Dean finished reading the paragraph of the police report and answered.

“It’s a report on a missing person. Guy was cycling home and disappeared. They found his bike but no trace of him.”

Sam shrugged. “And what has peaked your interest?”

“It appears that he isn’t the only person to simply disappear in the last few years. I’ve not had a chance to research it properly but the disappearances seem to happen at regular intervals all within a quarter mile of each other. There was one12 months ago, guy driving home but never made it. They found his car abandoned on the road. They searched the woods but never found him.”

Sam nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “Sounds like it’s worth us having a look. Could be anything though, we would need a little more to go on.”

“We’ve had a quiet couple of weeks, we need to stretch our legs. I suggest we go and visit the area and talk to a few people.”

Sam nodded and finished his coffee. “Where are we headed?”

“Boyson County, Colorado.”

“That’s a long run. Guess I’d better get some breakfast before we set off.”

They checked into a small motel on the outskirts of Cedarbrook in Boyson. Both Winchester brothers walked slowly to the room, each carrying their kit bags. The long drive had been interspersed with regular brief breaks as both brothers wanted to establish a base before nightfall but their limbs were stiff from being stuck in the car for endless hours. It was about 6.15pm when Dean pushed the door open and threw his bag down beside the nearest bed. Sam walked past him and put his bag down beside the bed furthest from the door. It was an unwritten rule that Dean took the bed nearest the door and Sam tolerated it because he knew that his overprotective brother would not relax if it wasn’t that way.

Sam looked up as Dean stretched the kinks from his back and asked “You hungry?”

Sam had only had a small snack from a gas station a few hours ago and his empty belly rumbled.

“I’m starved. Give me a minute to use the bathroom and I’ll be ready.”

Dean nodded and walked over to the guest guide to see what the local eating options were.

When Sam came out he suggested an Italian which didn’t seem too far away and they locked the room and left. 

Walking through the small town they noted the sheriff's office and made a mental note of its location for the next day. Their enquiries would start with the local law enforcement which should hopefully then be able to guide them into their investigation. 

The pizza was excellent and the gelato even better and both Winchester brothers walked back with bellies full. They slept well that night. 

Next day after breakfast at a small coffee shop they walked into the Sheriff's office, clad in their dark FBI suits. The clerk looked up at them in surprise as they flashed their fake FBI id cards and Dean took the lead. “I’m agent Rose and this is agent Connolly. We’d like a word with the sheriff if he’s around.” The clerk nodded and pressed a button on her phone informing the sheriff of the visitors.

He turned out to be a she and Sheriff Freda Dibner came out of her office greeting the two dark suited men with a friendly smile and a handshake. 

“Hi, I’m the town Sheriff. What can I do for the FBI?”  
Dean assessed the woman in front of him. She reminded him of Jody Mills and he warmed to her disarming smile.

“I’m agent Rose, this is my partner agent Connolly. “ he introduced “We’ve come to ask a few questions about the disappearance of Jordi Connor.”  
Freda frowned. She had known Jordi for most of his life. “Why would you be interested in Jordi?”

Sam interjected. “Jordi was a friend of someone with connections with our base office. It was passed onto us to investigate reports of his disappearance. It’s just routine. So what can you tell us?”

Freda shrugged her shoulders. “Not a lot. He worked at the 7-11 on Lexworth Avenue. He was cycling home to his folks place. He left work at 10.15pm on 17th September but never reached home. His parents rang to say that they had gone out looking for him as the route back to their homestead was down a dark backroad. They came across his bike lying at the side of the road but no sign of Jordi.”

“And you didn’t find anything?” asked Dean

“Not a thing. We had a search party out for days but there was no trace.”  
“Sounds like an abduction.” commented Sam.

“That’s a line of investigation but cctv evidence doesn’t show any other vehicles entering or exiting that back road. It’s a strange one, he just disappeared without a trace.” She laughed hollowly. “Someone even suggested an alien abduction.”

“Very unlikely” said Sam firmly. “We did a little research before coming down. It looks like this has happened before.”  
Freda nodded. “Yeah, back in late summer last year. Jed Rankin - a local farm hand. He disappeared the same way. His pickup was parked up at the side of the road with the keys in it but we never found him.”

“Was it the same area?”

Freda nodded. “As near as dammit the same spot. There’s nothing there except woods. Do you guys want a coffee?”

Dean and Sam nodded and she moved to the coffee pot and poured out two cups.

“Can you show us on the map where they disappeared?” asked Sam and she pointed to the large map on the wall. “About 2 miles north of town the road turns off to the right. It leads to a few farms. It used to lead to a small community but a forest fire wiped it out in the 1950s.”

Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother, that small snippet of information filed away to be investigated further. 

Dean thanked her for the coffee and took a sip. It was strong and hot and he relished the caffeine jolt.

“So what do you think happened Sheriff?”

She sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. Jordi was 19 years old, fit as a fiddle. He cycled everywhere. He grew up in the area and knew it like the back of his hand. To be honest, the alien abduction theory sounds like the best I can come up with at the moment.”

“Is there anywhere I can research old disappearance cases? I may be able to pick up a pattern.” asked Sam.

Freda frowned “All our records are held at HQ in Boulder City” but then she grinned. “Try Esther at the local library. She’s got a full archive of local history. I’m sure she’ll be able to pull up editions of the local paper - they go back years.”

After chatting for a little more and getting some more background information they left and walked over to the library. Dean left Sam to his research and looked at the address they’d been given for Jordi Connors parents. 

“I’ll have a run up to the Connors farm while you do your nerd bit Sammy.”

Sam smiled up a him and called out softly. “Be careful Jerk.”

“See you later Bitch.” reiterated the elder hunter. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

He saw Sam settle in and begin to scroll through microfiches of the Cedarbrook Reporter.

Returning to the Impala he checked the map and drove out to the Connors Farm. He slowed and stopped as he passed the junction where Jordi had disappeared. Taking his EMF monitor from his pocket he turned it on and it buzzed quietly. “Huh” he said to himself. Seeing nothing and not wanting to get out of the car he carried on. Both brothers would return later that day to investigate the possibility of spectral activity. It was another avenue of investigation to be looked into.

Jordi’s parents, Jeff and Donna were obviously distraught. Their son had disappeared over a month ago and no trace had been found. Dean introduced himself as Agent Rose and asked them some questions but they were unable to offer any insights into what had happened to their son. 

“That road that you found his bike on, what is down there?” he asked.

Jeff answered. “Nothing. We’ve lived here for over 20 years and the site has never been developed.”

Donna nodded. “There was a small settlement years ago but my pa told me there was a forest fire and it destroyed all the houses.”

“Did everyone get out ok?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It was before I was born.”

“I understand that there was a disappearance last year?”  
Jeff frowned. “Yeah, Jed Rankin.”

“I believe they found his car but there was no trace.”

“Jed was a drifter. We all assumed he’d moved on to pastures new.”  
“Leaving his car, that sounds strange.”

Donna laughed hollowly. “He wasn’t the most reliable of characters.”  
“He owed a lot of debts.” added Jeff “and had a reputation of messing around with other guys wives. I think the police decided it was a staged disappearance and he’d moved on.”

Dean nodded. “Maybe.” suspecting that there was more to the story.  
Donna looked at Dean intently. “Do you think his disappearance and Jordis are connected?”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t know” he said honestly. “We’re looking for a pattern of missing cases. It may be just a coincidence.” he looked at his watch. “My partner is doing some local history research. I need to get back to him so we can put our heads together.” He stood up to leave and Jeff escorted him onto the front porch. Gripping Deans hand when shaking it, he looked at him intently.

“You think he’s dead don’t you.”

Dean didn’t want to give any false hope so he answered honestly. “I don’t know but I’ll do everything to find out what happened to your Son Mr Connor.”

Jeff accepted with a grim nod. He knew that the longer it took, the less likely it was that his Son would be alive.

“Thank you” he said sincerely. 

Dean wrote his number on a card and handed it to him “If you need anything or remember anything you think can help, give me a call.”

Jeff nodded silently and Dean walked away.

Climbing into the Impala he drove away and sighed deeply. “Why does life dump on good people?” he asked himself softly. 

20 minutes later he returned to the library to find Sam still engrossed in the archives. The younger Winchester looked up, spotting his brother and closed the screen, picking up a stack of notes.

Thanking the elderly librarian he stood up and followed Dean out to the pavement. Dean pointed towards the small coffee shop and they entered and sat down in a quiet corner. Sam collated his notes as his brother ordered a couple of cappuccinos.

“So, what have you got?” asked Dean sitting down and placing the two cups in front of him

Sam tucked his dark hair behind his ears and looked down at his notes.

“There appears to be a pattern. Several missing persons reports over the last decade and going back before that.”

“Going back to the late 50’s?” guessed Dean

Sam nodded. “It’s harder to trace the earlier reports but I’ve traced at least 18 missing persons since the early 60’s to 2019.”

Dean leaned back in the chair and sipped his coffee.

“So, do we agree that we are looking at a pattern?”  
Sam nodded. “All disappeared in September. There’s probably one a year but as they weren’t all locals I guess all the cases weren’t recorded.”

“I passed by the site and used the EMF monitor. I got a faint signal.”

“So, we’re dealing with what? Woman in white, vengeful spirit?”

Sam took a sip of his drink as his brother nodded.

“The Connors said there were houses there before a forest fire wiped out everything.”

“Yeah, September 1958. It burned down 5 smallholdings.”

“Anybody killed?”

Sam shook his head. “No. Apparently they had plenty of warning and were able to evacuate.”

“Do you have a list of house owners?”  
Sam pulled out a list. “Yeah. I checked out all of them, Campbells, O’Connors, Reynolds, Delaneys and Mitchells.. Most moved back nearer town and a couple of families moved out of the area.”

Dean frowned “Not much to go on. I presume there are no reports of accidental deaths in the area?”

“Nothing that I could find.”

“Hmm. I guess we’ll have to have a run up there this afternoon to see what we can find.”

“Excuse me” said an elderly lady sitting on the next table.

The brothers looked up and saw a white haired lady, wearing a thin blue cardigan looking at them.

“I’m sorry.” she said “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation about the fire.”

Dean smiled at her. “Yes Mam” he said respectfully “Were you around then?”

She nodded. “I’m Mildred Delaney.” she introduced. “We lost our house in the fire. We were newly married and it was our first home together. It was such a shame when the fire destroyed everything.”

“Tough break” Dean commented and she continued.  
“You asked if anyone was killed?”  
Sam interjected. “I checked the records, it said everyone was evacuated safely.”

Mildred nodded. “They forgot about Annie Reynolds.”

Sam checked his list. “I’ve got a John Reynolds but no Annie.?”

Mildred nodded. “Records will show that Annie left John in the Spring but I always thought that was suspicious. Me and Annie were good friends and one day she just disappeared. John said she’d walked out on him but I never heard from her again.”

She leaned in and whispered. “ I always suspected he had murdered her and buried her body somewhere. He wasn’t the best character when he’d had a drink.”

Dean nodded sagely. “And where can I find John Reynolds?”  
“Oh he’s long gone” she declared. “After the fire he left town. I doubt he’s still alive.”

Dean thanked her for her information and she returned to her coffee.

The boys finished their drink and packed their stuff away.

“I think we have enough information to carry on with our investigation. Thank you Mrs Delaney, you’ve been most helpful”

“Any time dear.” she said sweetly

Sam hesitated. “You don’t happen to have a photo of Annie do you Mrs Delaney?”

She shook her head. “No unfortunately we lost everything in the fire but she was beautiful, green eyes, long dark hair, such a sweet girl. Such a shame she ended up with a pig like John Reynolds.”

As the Winchester brothers walked back to the motel they discussed the case.

“So we are reckoning that John killed his wife and buried her somewhere close?”

Sam speculated.

“Yeah, this looks like a vengeful spirit. We need to find where he put her and salt and burn the bones.” 

“Well she’s got to be close to the house because that’s where she’s been lingering all these years.” 

Dean thought for a moment. “ Are all the disappearances men?”

Sam nodded. “No particular type though, young and old although all of them are white.”

Dean shrugged out of his jacket as they reached the motel and slung it over his shoulder..

“So we’re guessing she’s taking revenge on substitutes for her husband.”

“Looks like it.” said Sam unlocking the door.

“Well then we know what needs to be done. Let’s get changed and get the kit together. The hard part will be finding her body but the EMF meter will help with that. Let’s hope Jordi will be her last victim.”

Sam nodded and they swiftly changed and prepared for the hunt. Now they knew what they were looking for, they were optimistic of a good result.

An hour later Dean pulled down the side road and coasted for a few yards before stopping. There were just too many potholes for them to be able to travel any further. Both brothers climbed out and Sam gathered the back pack with the spade, salt and lighter fluid from the boot. He moved to the front of the car where Dean was holding up the EMF meter. It was buzzing quietly, proof that a spirit was in the immediate vicinity Sam looked at the crude map he had noted and turned and studied the local area. 

“The Reynolds House was the second one in.”  
Both brothers studied the area but there was no indication of any houses, the land overgrown and young trees studding the landscape. Heaving a sigh, Dean led the way, hoping that the EMF meter would be able to give them a more precise indication the closer they got. They walked down the road and the meter did indeed begin to buzz louder. Suddenly Dean became aware of a movement on his right and out of the corner of his eye he saw a shadow. Turning he saw a white figure but when he looked at it directly it disappeared.

“Sam did you see that?” he asked carefully and Sam nodded. “Yeah, something to the right.”

Dean stepped around the trunk of a young tree and walked carefully forward. There was no indication of any ruins of a building, just a grass meadow. Sam followed about 6 feet behind.

The elder hunter stepped over a tussock and suddenly the ground beneath him collapsed. Sam saw his brother disappear into the earth with a loud cry of surprise. Catching him up, he saw a large hole in the ground with earth falling into it. The remains of an old wooden door were evident at the edge. 

“Dean” he called and was relieved to hear a groan from his brother.

“Dean, you ok?” he called, peering down into the dark hole. 

Dean lay on the ground catching his breath after the heavy fall. Moving he winced as a sharp pain travelled up his leg. “Shit” he exclaimed and then took a deep breath hearing his frantic brother calling him again. “Dean, answer me.”

“Ok, keep your hair on princess. I’m alive.”

Sam breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Are you hurt?”

Dean assessed his condition. He knew there was no point in trying to kid his brother.

“Hurt my knee when I fell, otherwise ok.” He looked up to his brothers silhouette at the entry.

“Where are you, can you see anything?”  
“Looks like I’ve fallen into an old cellar.”

He looked around vaguely It was dark only a sliver of light coming in when he had fallen in. Suddenly, without warning, the hole closed up and he was plunged into complete darkness. Reaching into his pocket he brought his small torch out and breathed a sigh of relief as it powered up. Casting it round quickly, he saw he was on bare earth but there were old shelves in a corner. 

Sam jumped back in surprise as the ground before him was restored to grass. If you didn’t know the cellar was under there you would just pass it by. Dean must have been really unlucky to have stepped in the wrong place. He quickly got the spade from his bag and began to dig and was relieved as he broke through the thin crust again. “You ok Dean?” he called and got a relieved shout from his brother. “I need to get the rope from the Impala." Dean was annoyed at the stupidity of his situation - typical Winchester bad luck of stepping on a rotten board covered up by vegetation. However, there was definitely something supernatural occurring as holes do not just seal up. He skimmed the torch light down and a sudden movement brought his attention into focus. Something was moving in the shadows. He swept the beam around and it caught it’s light on a white flash. Focussing on it, he saw the familiar shape of a ribcage, strings of meat hanging off it. A chain was hooked around a rib and he picked it up. The beam wavered in his hand and he let out a shocked cry as several pairs of eyes were highlighted in the darkness. His ears picked up a squeaking and patter of tiny paws. He shuffled back as he realised that the cellar was infested with rats and the light was picking out the biggest vermin he had ever seen. His back hit something and he felt behind him and brought something out. He looked down and in his hand was a human femur. He swung it towards the rats in terror as they scuttled towards him.

“Sam” he screamed. “Sam, get me out of here.”

Dean hated rats, always had and always would and he was now experiencing his worst nightmare. His knee was screaming at him as he shouted for his brother

“Sam, please for god's sake hurry up and get me out of here.”

Sam was walking carefully back to the hole when he heard his brothers panicked cries. Carefully making his way over the rough ground he reached the edge, scared to hear Deans desperate pleas. What the hell was going on?

He reached the edge and peered over. “Dean whats wrong?”

“Get me out, please Sammy” sobbed Dean which shocked Sam to his core. He had never heard such a desperate plea from his usually strong brother.

“Just hang on. I’ll throw down the rope once I’ve secured it.”  
“Hurry” pleaded the elder Winchester, swinging the femur at the advancing rats.

Sam tied the end of the rope to the tree trunk and fed it down into the hole. It wasn’t that far down and there was enough slack for Dean to tie it firmly around the waist.

“It’s coming down Dean Tie it around your waist and I’ll pull you up.”

Dean grabbed the rope and pulled it tightly around his waist. “Ok Sammy.” he shouted and struggled to get to his feet, groaning as he was unable to put weight on his injured knee. He felt the rope tighten and begin to lift him up. He kicked out as he felt a furry body run over his foot and heard a squeal. “Get me out.” he cried, his breath tightening as he felt the panic beginning to overwhelm him. He was relieved as he felt himself rise off the floor as his brother started to lift him. 

Sam gritted his teeth and with muscles straining he pulled the rope and eventually managed to lift his brother high enough for Dean to use his arms to pull himself up to the edge. Collapsing back he breathed a sigh of relief as Dean pulled his body up but moved forward quickly as he saw the panicked expression on his brothers face. Pulling him forward away from the hole he saw that Dean was in the throes of a panic attack. Shocked by the extreme reaction he pulled his brother to him and rubbed his back, scared by the sobs coming from the experienced hunter. “Breathe Dean breathe” he ordered and eventually he felt him calming, his breathing evening out.

“Rats Sammy, rats” he whispered and Sam immediately understood. Dean wasn’t scared of many things but Dean had never liked rats. To be trapped in the dark with rats was probably one of his worst nightmares.

Finally Dean managed to gather his emotions and he leaned back with a sheepish smile,

“What happened in there Dean?”

“I think I found Jordi.”

Sam looked over the side. “He’s in there?”

“Yeah and someone else.”  
“Someone else?”  
“Yeah, I was using their leg bone to beat off the rats.” he said with a shaky smile.

“I take it he’s dead?”

“Yeah, there’s not much left. The rats are well fed.”

Sam frowned at that grim thought. “So, she’s guiding unsuspecting men to the cellar where they are falling to their doom.”

“Not a good way to go Sammy” shuddered Dean. He moved slightly and winced at the pain in his knee which immediately Sam focussed on.

“Let me take a look.” he said quietly and Dean leaned back and let him examine him. “I don’t think it’s broke, I think I twisted it when I hit the floor.” 

Sam nodded. “I think you’re right. We need to get some ice on it.”

Dean looked down at the hole. “I reckon Annie is in the cellar as well as the others. Looks like the rats had an annual feast.”

Sam looked down at the hole. “Well one of us needs to go back and salt and burn the bones and seeing as you’re crocked, I guess it’ll be me.”

“Sam” said Dean quietly and he indicated to the side. A slight female with long dark hair and white dress was standing a short distance away looking at them. She stared at them coldly and began to advance. However, a young man appeared behind her and held her back. Others joined him.

“Hurry Sammy.” urged Dean and Sam nodded and disappeared over the edge, swiftly skimming down the rope. Kicking at the rats as they scurried around his feet he quickly doused all visible bones he could see. He looked sadly at the most recent body - such a waste of a young life. Scattering the rest around the walls he grabbed the rope and pulled himself up, feeling Deans hand on his arm helping him over the edge. Sitting on the edge and breathing heavily from the effort he passed the matches to his brother to light a soaked rag “Do you want to do the honours?” he asked.

Dean nodded and struck a match, the rag flaming to life. Looking over to the ghosts he smiled and dropped it down into the cellar. The fluid ignited with a flash and the corpses began to be consumed. The Winchesters watched as the ghosts flared into flames and disappeared one by one, all moving onto a better place. Breathing a sigh of relief Dean lay back and took a couple of deep breaths. He felt the heat of the burning cellar and shuffled back away from the edge grimacing as his knee twinged. Suddenly a dark body crawled over the edge, which was followed by another and another until there was a stream of smoking rats emerging from the inferno. Dean backed away in horror as the black exodus raced towards him, a panicked scream burning his throat. He felt himself pushed flat and he was covered by the large body of his brother. Sam had flung himself over the screaming body of his brother and as he lay on the floor he felt the rats running over his back making their escape. It didn’t take long until all the rats had disappeared into the woods.

Shakily, Sam rose. “You ok?” he asked. Dean nodded, his breathing hitching in his chest.

“I want to go home Sammy” he said quietly.

“Sure thing. Let me help you up”

Dean held out his arm and with his brothers help limped over to the Impala.

Half an hour later Dean was lying on the bed, damaged knee encased in an ice wrap. Sam had given him a painkiller and he was dozing. The younger Winchester finished his phone call and turned back to his brother.

“I’ve asked the Sheriff to come round. It’ll take a bit of explaining but I hope she’ll have an open mind. If not, I’m sure a chat with Jody Mills will help.”

Dean nodded. “I keep thinking about those poor guys stuck in that underground prison with nothing but rats for company.”

Sam nodded. “I think that she killed them before leaving them. Jordi’s neck was broken.”

Dean breathed deeply. “Well that’s a relief as I’ve been imagining those rats eating him while he was still alive.”

Sam patted his brother on the shoulder. He knew that Dean had been badly affected by experience. “ Once that hole was covered up no-one would have known anyone was down there. If I hadn’t have been up top I wouldn’t have found you.”

“Thanks for getting me out Sammy so quickly.” he said sincerely and they linked gazes. Sam nodded.

“I’ve never seen you so scared. You were in a full blown panic attack when you came out of the hole.”

Dean shut his eyes at the memory, embarrassed by his reaction and felt his brother punch him lightly on the arm.  
“Hey, it’s ok to be scared Dean. I don’t know many people that would have acted any differently when faced with that situation. It just shows that your human. Hell, imagine what I would have been like if it had been clowns down there instead of rats.”

That made Dean laugh and he grabbed his brothers hand.

“Thanks Sammy. Just don’t tell anyone will you?”  
The dark haired hunter shook his head with an evil grin.

“Oh, you don’t know how much ammunition I have over you now.” he said darkly and moved back as Dean went to get him.

“Sam” warned Dean. “Just remember I’ve got stories of my own.”

Sam laughed. “Yeah, plenty of ammo on both sides. Look, you know I won’t share this with anyone.” he said sincerely and Dean believed him. “ It’s just nice to confirm you’ve still got a human side.” he added. “Now you rest up, the Sheriff will be here soon.”

Dean leaned back against the pillows. He’d always had a problem with rats since he was small. He’d been an inquisitive little chap and had managed to get himself stuck in an old shed whilst their dad was out working. His mom was resting as she was heavily pregnant with Sam so he had wandered off to the storage shed in the yard. The door had closed behind him and being only 4 years old he had not been able to open it again. He had been stuck there for only a few minutes but in that time he had seen two large rats come through a hole and they had been very interested in investigating the young explorer. His screams had brought his Mom running and she had scooped him up but the traumatic experience had left an indelible stain on his psyche. Any meetings with rats from then on caused an irrational fear. Stupid, he said to himself. I can cope with all manner of monsters but am crippled by fear of small furry creatures. 

It was a weakness that he would be able to fight normally but being stuck in the dark cellar with man-eating rats had totally messed with his mind and he knew that the experience would leave him with another nightmare to add to the others.

Later that day, after the Sheriff had left, the Winchester brothers pulled up in the Impala in front of the Connor house. Sam got out of the drivers side and walked round to the passenger side, helping Dean stand. The older hunter grimaced as his knee hurt when he moved it and appreciated as Sam hesitated for a second to give him time to get set.

“I can do this if you want Dean.” he said quietly but Dean shook his head.

“No, I’m ok. I made a promise.”

Sam nodded and gently offered a shoulder for his brother as he limped over to the main door. It opened as they negotiated the stairs and Jeff and Donna stepped out having heard the car draw up.

“Have you got news?”

Dean nodded. Seeing him struggling Jeff indicated to the nearby porch chair and Dean gratefully sat down. His knee was throbbing painfully.

He looked up at them and he saw in the faces the resignation of the news they expected the Agent to tell them. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. We found him but it was too late.” and Donna dissolved into tears, Jeff hugging her tightly.

“Where was he?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“He fell into an old cellar. The hole caved in after him so he was trapped.”

“Oh god.” breathed the tall man.

“It looks like he died instantly. Broke his neck in the fall so it was quick.”

Jeff closed his eyes in anguish.

“I’m sorry but there’s something else.”

“Could it be any worse?”

Dean nodded. “I fell into the hole myself. It was pure chance that we found it. That’s how I busted my knee. While I was down there I lit a rag to give me some light. Sam pulled me up but I dropped the rag. There was something on the floor and it ignited. I’m afraid Jordi’s body was incinerated.”

Donna and Jeff gasped.  
Dean dug into his pocket. “But I managed to grab this. I take it that it is Jordis?”

“Yeah. We gave it to him on his 18th birthday” said Jeff hollowly taking the necklace from the agents hand. He swallowed hard.

“Thank you for finding him.”

“He’s at rest now.” Dean said. “The sheriff is aware of the situation but I asked if I could let you know. She’ll contact you later.”

“I appreciate that Agent.” said Jeff moving forward to shake his hand. 

“I just wish it was a different result.” sighed Dean and he motioned to his brother.

Quietly Sam pulled him up and they bid their goodbyes to the sobbing couple.

Getting in the car Sam drove them up the road.

“Life sucks.” he said quietly.

Dean nodded, closing his eyes, the anguish of the couple resonating through him.

“Let's go home Sammy.”


End file.
